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HP Unveils SMB Point of Sale Solution

Hardware maker HP Inc. has introduced its first point of sale solution specifically tailored to the needs of small and midsize retailers.

Called the HP Engage One Prime and due to reach market in February, the new offering is designed to combine everything an SMB needs to process cash and credit card transactions in one easily installed and administered package that interfaces with any cloud-based POS application. Critically, the bundle includes integrated payment services from PayPal too.

“All SMB customers, when they’re looking for point-of-sale, the number one pain point they have is a payment solution,” says Kobi Elbaz, HP’s vice president and general manager for personal systems, Americas. Partnering with PayPal, he continues, “will help our channel partners provide an end-to-end solution to their customers.”

The solution is built around a 14-inch Full HD touchscreen display, available in black or white, that tilts and flips for interacting with customers. Powered by a Qualcomm ARM processor and version 8.1 of the Android operating system, the device is engineered to be energy efficient and provide strong performance at cost-effective price points.

The complete solution also includes a peripherals bundle equipped with a receipt printer, barcode scanner, cash drawer, and other accessories; a PayPal payment device that accepts chip, tap and swipe payments; and warranty service from HP. Additional support and services are available from PayPal and authorized HP point-of-sale partners. The system will be available to channel pros through leading distributors.

Final pricing for the solution has yet to be set, but according to Elbaz will be appropriate for SMB budgets. “It’s going to be very competitive,” he says, adding that buyers will have the option of making a single upfront payment or financing the acquisition through PayPal.

Though HP has long offered point of sale systems like the ElitePOS unit it shipped in August 2017, those offerings all target mid-market businesses and above. Unlike those larger organizations, Elbaz notes, SMBs lack the time, money, and know-how to implement anything but pre-assembled, out-of-the-box solutions. “They normally don’t have an IT department inside the organization that can optimize for them what they need,” he says.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there are currently over 600,000 SMB retailers in the U.S. The HP Engage One Prime, Elbaz states, provides channel pros a compelling way to pursue that vast addressable market.

Solutions like the HP Engage One Prime are one of HP’s top strategic priorities at present, according to Elbaz, along with “re-innovating” the company’s core line of PCs, notebooks, and gaming machines. Other examples of that solutions push include HP’s emerging lineup of commercial VR and immersive computing products, and offerings like the HP Healthcare Edition portfolio, a collection of endpoints designed to endure repeated cleaning and meet stringent safety and data privacy standards. HP shipped those devices last March.

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With each issue packed full of powerful news, reviews, analysis, and advice targeting IT channel professionals, ChannelPro-SMB will help you cultivate your SMB customers and run your business more profitably.